Keys
by I'll Eat Yourself
Summary: A young male pianist with secrets to reveal finds an even younger but rather unusual girl, and after saving her life, decides to protect her. Things start out quite good for the pair, especially when Ed, Al, and Winry come on orders, but as the saying goes, things are not always as they seem. What will happen when an unwelcome guest visits their grand home? Note: OCs are included.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Cold…everything was cold…the ground was cold…the air was cold…the people were cold…the very earth itself, it seemed, was cold…

…Why was everything so cold?

It was because of her. She was an abomination. She did not deserve to feel warmth. She did not deserve to feel love. She did not even deserve to live.

No, she was to be tortured for the rest of her life, unable to experience happiness…

…because she did not belong.

Why her? She was still young. She still had a mind of her own. She was still intelligent. She was even a human once.

So why?

She'd be better off dead. But she didn't want to die. No, she was too afraid of what it would be like; too afraid that there was no life after death, of any sort; too afraid that there would be something to look forward to in her future that she would be throwing away in death.

But nobody cared for her. Nobody would miss her. If she died, her death would probably go completely unnoticed. There couldn't be anything to look forward to. Surely if there was, then there would have been a sign of it by now. But nothing had happened yet, and it was far too likely that nothing would happen.

So why?

Why was she still alive?

Why hadn't she died yet?

Why hadn't she killed herself?

All these thoughts ran through her head, and she sank down the cold wall of the alley in despair. Nothing would happen. She would die. She would die, and that would be the end of it. The cold was too much. There was no way she could possibly live much longer.

There he was. The man she had just stolen meat from a moment ago. He stood before her, his cold eyes glaring down at her with malice. In his hand he held a meat cleaver of cold steel. Everything about this man was cold, so much so that it seemed to radiate from him. The very air seemed to get colder as he bore down upon her, ready to strike. He spoke, but she didn't care to listen. She didn't have to. She knew his intentions. They were the same as those of the small crowd that had followed him.

…This was it.

She would die.

She would be caught in the icy grip of death, and become victim to the cold darkness that would follow.

…But she didn't.

Why was she still alive?

She should be dead.

So why wasn't she?

Wait…something's different…somebody else was there…and he seemed to radiate…warmth?


	2. Chapter 1: Love and Hate

**Chapter 1: Love and Hate**

Music was everywhere. He tuned out everything else, and left only the music, which he played with such feeling that his hands seemed to fly across the keys. But fly was not the right word. No, for he was playing too slow for his hands to be flying. He guessed…flowing was a better word. Yes, his hands flowed over the keys as he played the single, beautiful tune on his grand piano. Nothing else mattered then. Only him and the music. He played slowly, but whole-heartedly, and if he didn't, the tune would not sound as beautiful as it did right now. If he did not play with heart, then it would sound harder in a sense, like a simple copy of the song played by someone who didn't care much, instead of including the softness that made it so beautiful. After all, this was no ordinary song. This was one of his favorite tunes, Moonlight Sonata, the piece dedicated by Beethoven to a student he fell in love with. This same piece was also Beethoven's most popular sonata, and was often considered to be one of the most beautiful piano sonatas in existence.

He ended the song, and then quietly shut the lid over the keys. Then, he sat there, lost in deep thought, as he let the full impact of the moment flow through him. There was something about it that was both uplifting, and yet heartbreaking at the same time. It was times like this that he acted accordingly: he relished the moment, loving it to death, and yet hated with a passion the heartbreaking feeling that came with it. Love and hate; two things that should not belong together. That was something unique about music such as the piece he just played. It was the only thing he knew of that could create harmony in love and hate; the only thing that made them seem to work together, even if it was in a conflicting way.

After finally convincing himself that the moment had to end, he reluctantly stood up and began to leave the room, wondering what he should do next. He finally decided he should head out and buy some more food. It had been a while since he last went to the store, so he might as well. He walked out the rather average front doors of the large place he called home, the place others called Pride Mansion. He locked the doors, then began to walk away, but stopped and looked back for a moment. Pride Mansion. It was such an odd name for a place that housed one such as himself, and yet it was perfectly fitting, because without the mansion being the way it was, he could not enjoy his life the way he did now; he could not have a room dedicated solely to the Grand Piano and the beauty it could create in no other environment. The mansion was made mainly of marble and wood, with other things like ceramic tiles or carpeting in some of its rooms. The windows were clear and fancy, yet not too complicated so as to be difficult to recreate or clean. The front doors were nothing too fancy, just a pair of wooden double doors that were the same size as any other door: large enough to accommodate the average human being, small enough to make Alphonse Elric duck his head. The building also had large green bushes along the walls on the outside, adding to the rich look of the place, despite it being right at the edge of a forest, where it was isolated somewhat from the rest of the city. Yes, he could certainly see why it deserved such a name as Pride, for it was certainly something to be proud of.

He finally looked away from the mansion and back to the dirt road extending straight ahead of him into the distance. He checked to make sure his short blond hair, which was spiked up a little in front, didn't need to be combed before he departed. Finding it did need a bit of combing in back, he pulled a small comb out of the right pocket of his gold-colored jacket and took a moment to fix the problem. When he had, he put the comb back, adjusted his somewhat-rectangular glasses, and began his short trip to the busier part of the city. The earth quietly crunched under his black winter boots as he walked, thinking to himself about the events of the day so far. He thought about the love/hate quality of the music he had played, and chuckled as it reminded him of the yin yang. He soon had passed the edge of the forest and into the valley, where he could clearly see the rest of the city only about a mile away. A breeze began to blow, and he stuck his hands in the pockets of his blue jeans. The wind seemed colder than usual today; combined with the gray clouds covering the sky and the occasional thin patches of snow on the ground, he guessed winter was beginning, and that he should have prepared for snowfall just in case.

It was only a short walk later, perhaps fifteen minutes, that he finally reached the sign that read "Welcome to Ducrean City". Underneath that was a wooden arrow pointing the way he had just come, with the words "Pride Mansion" printed on it in white. It was here that he stopped for a moment, trying to decide what he would buy, as well as where some of the less-visited shops were at, as this city was still a bit of a maze, despite being built in a somewhat grid-like fashion. An oddly-dressed man in a large top hat caught his eye for a moment. The man seemed to notice him, and turned to face him, taking his hat off in greeting.

"Well, hello there," said the man in a polite manner, giving an off-balance but elegant bow. He wore an expression on his face, a casual but mysterious grin that seemed to say 'I know something you do not.' This caused the young resident of Pride Mansion to become rather curious, but he quickly passed it off as nothing.

"Hello there, Hatter," he returned.

Hatter, as the townsfolk called him, stood up straight again, then said, "I'd like to stay and chat, but I want to get some tea before the tea shop closes. Care to join me?"

"No thanks. I just came to grab some food, that's all."

"Oh, okay then," Hatter replied, and then simply walked away toward the tea shop as if nothing had happened at all. He realized Hatter would sometimes walk across tables and barrels rather than going around them, though this only seemed to happen if something caught his eye, which happened quite often. What a strange man.

He finally decided to go to the general grocery store first. He passed rows of other shops and houses, businesses and grocery booths, until he found the shop he wanted. As he was nearing the shop, he noticed a commotion at the entrance to an alley down the road. A crowd seemed to have gathered there, but he could not see what for. Judging by the sounds coming from it, it couldn't be good. He decided it was best to see what was going on.

He ran up to the small crowd to discover that at least a third of them were angry with something. He also saw that the butcher was in the center, looking into the alley, which he could now see had walls of gray brick, probably cinderblock. He flattened his hands together in front of his face and tried to squeeze his way into the center so he could see what the commotion was about. What he saw there was so unexpected that he almost couldn't believe his eyes.

There, nestled in the corner, was a chimera. A very young fox chimera to be exact. It wasn't that that amazed him though. It was her current state. She looked like a normal young girl, probably about ten or eleven, but she had the fur, ears, claws, tail, and nose of a fox. She didn't even really have a snout. No, she was still almost completely humanoid in nearly every way in terms of shape. She had fur that was a golden brown, eyes the color of the blue sea, and her ears were flat against her head. She had long hair of a slightly darker shade than her fur. She seemed to somehow be stuck between the human and animal forms so common among the chimeras recently made by the military. She was probably a test subject during the time the chimeras were still being experimented on.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he realized the butcher was saying something.

"I caught you at last you little runt. I've had enough of your theft and stealing my meat and whatnot. I've had it!" he said, brandishing a meat cleaver in his right hand. "I think it's about time I put you out of your misery, if you even have any!" With that, the butcher raised the meat cleaver as he readied himself to charge forward and end the life of this freak. The girl shut her eyes in preparation for the attack. Just as he took his first step forward, the blond-haired boy suddenly stepped in front of him just into the alley, arms held out to the side like a barrier.

"Hey, watch it kid! You could get hurt doing something like that!" the butcher said to him, "Now get outta the way, I got a pest to take care of!"

"Why should I? What has she done to you?"

The butcher was taken aback. "Well…she's been stealing my meat!"

"So? What right does that give you to kill her?"

"Well, she's a thief! A devil! I mean…just look at her!"

The young mansion resident turned and looked behind him. "I see a young chimera in need of a home," he turned his head back to face the butcher, "What about her?"

"She's a freak!" Somebody in the crowd said. "She doesn't deserve to live!"

"Yeah!" someone else said.

"She keeps stealing my fish!" Another guy said.

"And I caught her trying to use one of my blankets once!" a woman said somewhere.

"We're sick of her theft, and we're sick of her face," the butcher continued, "Now I think it's about time I took care of the problem, so step asi-!"

"If you so much as TOUCH her with that blade I will make sure you can no longer hold meat and cut it at the same time!" the boy interrupted angrily.

The butcher stepped back for a moment, a confused look on his face. "What? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'LL MESS UP YOUR ARM SO YOU CAN'T USE IT, BUDDY," the boy said back to him in a dangerously serious tone, squinting his eyes in frustration at the butcher's stupidity while also trying to look more intimidating.

The butcher was so much of a stereotypical fool that the boy almost laughed. Now that he got a good look at him, the butcher was a bit of a fat guy, with average height and a bald head. His skin wasn't so pale as to make him scary. It was just pale enough to show that he didn't get out as much as some other folks. Despite the fat and somewhat stupid look however, he could tell there was some power to make up for it, as the butcher also seemed quite buff. Of course, most butchers are, unless they were like that Barry guy that had been in the paper a while ago. Even then, he knew the butcher wasn't much of a threat to him. To the girl though…

"Heh, you're a cocky young man, aren't ya?" the butcher said. He looked back at the crowd for a moment and started laughing. Then he looked back. "Tell ya what kid, if you let me through, I promise not to hurt ya."

The boy stood there for a moment, chuckled a bit and dropped his right arm to his side, then used his other to lean against the wall with an amused grin on his face.

The butcher smiled a little. "Ah, I see you've come to your senses. Alright then, let's get this over with." He began to walk passed the boy, caressing the sides of his knife between his fingers…and then a bunch of gray bars suddenly shot out of the right wall, right behind the boy who was leaning on it, and into the opposite wall, barring his path.

"What the-!" the butcher exclaimed, both surprised and confused at the sudden appearance of what appeared to be a barrier of horizontal bars made of cinderblock. He then noticed that a strange bluish light seemed to be fading from the boy's hand. "What kind of sorcery is this!" he yelled, glaring at the young boy.

"It's not," the boy answered. Then he opened his eyes and looked up at the older man. "It's science."

"…Huh? How so?" the bald man asked, clearly not believing him due to the blank look on his face.

There was a small conversation coming on. The boy could tell. He stood up straight and folded his arms as he looked at the butcher with cold, uncaring, almost bored eyes.

"Ever heard of a little thing called Alchemy?"

The older man hesitated as he thought for a moment. "Yeah, but this can't be alchemy. You didn't use any circles!"

The boy clasped his hands behind his back. "So? What if I'm special?"

This just made the man angrier. "What if you're spe- look I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANY OF THIS BULLCRAP NONSENSE! NOW GET OUT OF MY WAY BEFORE I PULVERIZE YOU!"

With that, the butcher shoved the boy out of the way so he could attempt to climb over the bars as the boy landed on the ground with a hard thud. Just as he got over the bars, he found he was almost right in front of the little demon. He began to walk toward her, blade raised to strike the deathblow, when a spike shot out of the ground to stop a mere centimeter from the butcher's wrist. The man froze in an attempt to prevent injuring himself.

"If you had attempted that move, your wrist would be cut open and you would be bleeding to death right now," said the young voice of the boy, as the butcher looked behind him to see the boy laying where he had been thrown, pressing both hands against the ground, a blue light once again emanating from them. The butcher looked back at the spike in front of his arm, and then got a malicious grin on his face.

"I can still go around it!" he said and then attempted to swing just to the side of the spike. The girl clenched her eyes shut, but then looked up in mild surprise, as another spike had erupted from the side of the first and was now mere inches from the man's temple. The man stood there motionless, eyeing the protrusion with a look of fear on his face.

"W-what the…?" he said in surprise. "How are you still…?"

The boy spoke again. "Now, step away from the girl, slowly please, or you will not like what I will do next."

The older man heard what sounded like the cinderblock bars from before receding, and he began to step back slowly, turning to face the boy in the process. The boy was still in the same position, glaring at the man with light blue eyes that reflected his strong will and determination. The light was still emanating from under his hands, though it had softened to a small glow.

"Who-who are you?" the man asked, and the boy could hear the fear and anger in his voice. He closed his eyes briefly as he stood up, and then opened them again to continue glaring at the butcher.

"I am Shike, and I REFUSE to let you harm an orphaned young girl so long as I am around to do something about it!"

The butcher continued to stare in disbelief for a moment, then opened his mouth to speak. "Alright," the man finally conceded, "I give up. You win! But I won't forget this! If she comes anywhere near my shop-"

"You will be sure not to even speak a word of malice towards her!" the blonde finished for him in an attempt to assure his authority, clasping his hands together in front of him to emphasize the threat.

The butcher growled as he suddenly dropped his knife and ran. Shike turned to face the rest of the crowd still gathered there. He could see that some of them who had insulted the girl earlier now had looks of surprise, fear, and anger on their faces, usually a mix of the three.

"If any of the rest of you still think she deserves to be killed or WORSE for resorting to petty theft out of being resented and ignored and basically denied a happy life, step forward now or forever hold your 'peace'," he said to the crowd, saying the word in a mocking and sarcastic tone. The crowd immediately began to disperse, confirming his beliefs that they wouldn't dare hang around. After all, the man who had actually been willing to get rid of her had been defeated. What was the point in staying now?

He continued to watch until everyone had left. Then, as a light snow began to fall, he turned in the direction of the alley and began to walk into it. The young girl just looked at him, both with fear and wonder, as he came toward her. He stopped just in front of her and knelt down, making eye contact with her as he did. The fear in her expression increased as he looked at her for a moment. Then he clapped his hands together, scaring her briefly, until his gaze shifted to the spike in the ground and he pressed his hands to either side of it. A blue light shined from his hands as the spike receded back into the ground it had come from. He looked back at her, and she realized that his eyes now had a softer look to them, and he also had a faint but kind smile to accompany them. She had a sudden feeling that he meant her no harm, but you could never be too sure. It could be that he just wanted to finish her off himself. But then why defend her the way he did?

"Hi there," he said, almost startling the poor girl. His voice had also grown softer, almost to a whisper. "I'm not gonna hurt you. Are you okay?"

She gave a small nod, still looking at him with those scared, sad eyes.

"That's good. Are you hungry?"

She looked down briefly as if ashamed, and then looked back up at him, giving another small nod.

"I figured you would be. I had actually come out here to get some groceries, so I guess you're in luck. Come with me and I'll get you something."

He began to reach toward her to help her up, but instead of taking his hand, she just flattened her fox ears against her head and looked at him with an expression of worry and slight distrust. He stopped the gesture and stood up as he continued to look at her, his own face turning to one of worry as he realized she didn't fully trust him and especially didn't want to go walking with him out into full view of those who had only a moment ago tried to kill her.

"…Still don't trust me huh?" he said to her. "I understand. I guess it was a mistake to think you would trust me right away, even more so that you would actually walk out into full view of society after such an experience." He thought for a moment, and then bent down to her level again. "I am going to ask that you stay here while I go get you something to eat. I am going to erect another wall here, one that will keep you hidden and protected while I am gone. Are you willing to trust me, at least for now?"

She looked down again for a moment, thinking to herself. When she finally came to a decision, she again gave a small nod.

"Good," he said to her. He stood up again. "Now just stay put and don't worry. I will be back in a moment." He clapped his hands as before, and as he left the alley, he placed his hands on the ground. The blue light from before emerged again, and a solid wall rose up out of the ground, completely closing off the alley from passersby.

The girl stayed put as she thought to herself. Did he really mean no harm? It sure seemed that way. He was obviously not the kind to be messed with, she could see that. He seemed kind enough though, and she hadn't received such kindness since…well, she'd rather not think about that. She decided it would be best to trust him and do whatever he told her, as even if he meant her harm in the end, it would be better to cherish the kindness she was getting while it lasted than to continue life the way she had been.

Shike headed over to the nearby grocery store, thinking all the while. He just couldn't stop thinking about that poor girl. Not that he really wanted to, as he honestly did care for her life. He knew there had to be some pretty sad story behind this. It wasn't just her state of being that told him this though, nor was it just how she was treated. What finalized that knowledge was none of that. It was…her eyes. Something about her eyes reflected pain as he had never seen before. He knew that she had probably gone through the same pain he had, if not worse. He also knew that nobody should have to go through such pain at all in their life. He knew that it was still just a part of life sometimes, but that didn't stop him from trying his best to make it as small a part as possible. That girl would need to be cared for, and it seemed he was the only one who was both capable and willing. Hatter would probably be willing, but he wasn't very capable, that was for sure. He couldn't think of anybody else that he would trust with her life. He really felt bad for her, and he had already decided that he would lay down his life for her if it meant giving her a better life than what she had been living only moments before. As he reached the store, he headed inside, remembering that he wouldn't be able to carry much if he had to take the girl home with him, since he would possibly need both hands to keep her protected. Plus, he doubted her legs would work much after such a close call, combined with her minimal food consumption over he didn't know how many weeks. He would probably have to carry her there. He decided the best deal right now would be to get something to serve as a small snack until he could return. He saw a small bag of snack crackers on a shelf and immediately decided it would work. As he took it up to the counter and paid for it, he contemplated opening it and eating one himself on the way, since he too was a little hungry, but he decided against it, remembering that the girl would need as much as she could get right now. He immediately began to head back to the alley, moving at a bit of a fast pace due to his worry for her safety. He almost passed the alley at first until he remembered that he had erected the wall to hide it. He stopped in front of it, and clapped his hands.

The girl looked up from the ground as she heard what sounded like the movement of stone and gravel. The new wall suddenly returned to the ground, and the boy who had called himself Shike walked forward as the kind smile from before showed itself once again. She realized he was holding a small packet of something.

"Here," he said crouching to her level, "Try these." He held out what she recognized as a small pack of snack crackers. She looked at them for a moment as he tore open the pack for her, and then she slowly took the pack and began nibbling on one of its contents. Shike watched her intently as she ate, his warm smile continuing to bring her comfort. After she had finished eating two crackers, he spoke again.

"I can see you don't have anywhere to stay, am I right?"

She nodded her reply.

"Alright then," he answered back. He paused for a moment then said something that shocked the girl to the core: "What do you think about coming to stay with me for a while?"

She just stared at him, her surprise evident as her eyes went wide at his question. Could he really mean it? Nobody had ever been this nice to her, especially not going so far as to provide her with a home. Then again, it could just be temporary shelter, perhaps for a week. After all, he was rather young to be taking care of someone like her by himself, and he probably had a family to worry about as well. But then again, you never know…

"Are you going to answer?" he suddenly chuckled, knocking her out of her stupor. She nodded almost vigorously in response, but was still rather wary, so the combinations of emotions made her answer seem more curious or confused than excited.

"Okay then. Now that that's settled, first thing we need to figure out is if you can stand."

She began to attempt it, but to her surprise, she fell, finding that her legs suddenly lacked the strength to support her. She looked back up at Shike, her sad expression having returned to her face.

"Just as I thought," he said, his smile replaced by a look of sadness. "You are still in shock from your previous ordeal, and that combined with your lack of proper eating has caused you to weaken considerably for a period of time."

She just looked at him, her face seeming to grow even sadder than before. A snowflake touched her nose, and she shook it off as she began to shiver.

"Would you say yes if I offered to carry you there?"

She looked back up at Shike, her arms around her now as she tried to stay warm. After thinking for a moment, she nodded again.

"Okay, then I will need you to sit up for me."

She did as he asked, flinching for a moment as he suddenly took his gold jacket off and put it around her, and then he lifted her up bridal style, careful not to make her drop the crackers she still held. He turned around and headed out of the alley, looking down and smiling at her for a brief moment, then looking back up to see where he was going. She just continued to look up at him with wonder for a while, every so often nibbling on another cracker as she did. Who exactly was this guy? And why was he willing to do all of this for her? Why did he give her his coat if he would clearly get cold without it? After all, he was wearing nothing underneath except a simple t-shirt. He could just as easily have kept it on for himself. She could have withstood the cold. She had survived it before. So why?

She decided eventually that it did not matter to her all that much. As she looked away from his face, she realized that there were others around them that had noticed the odd spectacle. Some just seemed to ignore it, continuing to walk as if they hadn't noticed at all. Most, however, would stop and stare as Shike walked on seemingly oblivious to those around him, a determined look on his face. The odd looks were not only giving her second thoughts, but they also made her feel embarrassed, so she went back to nibbling on her cracker.

"Hey, Shike, whatcha got there?" a voice from nowhere suddenly said. Shike turned to his right a little, and she realized a strange man was walking toward them. He looked about in his twenties, but he had an odd, oversized top hat with the size tag still in it, and a funny-looking trench coat full of pins and ribbons and other odd objects.

"Hello again, Hatter. I see you made it to the tea shop in time," Shike spoke, and she realized the odd man was indeed holding a tea cup.

"Yes I did. Funny story really. I'll have to tell you about it later! Now, who is this cute little thing?" he responded, looking at her with curiosity. She didn't really like being called a thing, but…did he just call her cute?

"This is a young chimera I found in a nearby alley. I intend to take her home and take care of her, as she is in great need of it," Shike said back.

"Oh, is that so? Well, I shan't bother you any longer then. Good morning!" he said, turning to wobble away in a fashion that made him look almost drunk or lost.

"Good day to you, my friend," he said, finishing the conversation. Shike turned back to the road he was heading down, then stopped and stood there, looking on ahead rather than walking. She turned her head to look at whatever he was looking at, and then gasped at what lay before her eyes. Standing tall and bright in the distance was the largest structure she had ever seen, at least in a long time. It appeared to be a mansion or fancy business building, but it looked large enough to be a castle. She looked back at Shike for an explanation.

"Pride Mansion," he said, "my home."

Her eyes grew wide as she realized what he was saying. She was going to be staying THERE? She looked at the enormous mansion. Then, accepting that Shike was indeed to be trusted, she smiled. It was a small smile, but it was a smile nonetheless. She hadn't smiled in a long time. It was then that the full extent of the day's events caught up to her in the form of exhaustion, and so she fell asleep in his arms, that little smile still on her face. Shike looked down at her, as the movement of her eyes and the change in her breathing had not gone unnoticed by him, and then grinned to himself. She looked so adorable, with that calm look on her face and her small hands holding the unfinished pack of crackers against her chest. The real reason he was smiling though was because he was also able to get a smile out of her. That was a start, as it meant that she had accepted him as a friend. Good. It was a sign that she may yet recover from her trauma. His hopes lifted, he began to walk towards the large place he called home with a warm smile plastered on his face.


	3. Chapter 2: Awakening

Alright guys, here's the second official chapter of Keys, and the end of the beginning. Yes, I am aware of a few mistakes and confusing bits from the first chapter, but that was the result of intending to do various things and then forgetting about them or deciding against them but forgetting to erase the references to them. If anything confused you in the previous chapter, just disregard it. As for timelines, I still don't know when all this stuff should happen in the original timeline, so I may just screw it and say it's its own thing that didn't happen at any specific point in the series. But enough about that, read the chapter! I promise the writing quality is far better in this one. I worked hard on it.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Awakening**

The first thing she noticed was the comfort. She seemed to be laying on something soft, with something else just as soft draped over her. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept so comfortably.

As she slowly opened her eyes, the second thing she noticed was the white ceiling. A ceiling? That didn't seem right. She looked to her right to see a closed window with black drapes covering it. She looked to her left to see a small brown wooden nightstand with a lamp on it. All the walls were white, and she realized now that she was in a room made of white marble. A room? It occurred to her that she had been sleeping in a bed as well. The previous day's events were a bit hazy, but she didn't remember falling asleep in a bed, or even entering a white marble room for that matter. Where was she? And how had she gotten here? In fact, WHY was she here? No sane person in her situation would enter a random room, or even a random building, and then fall asleep inside; at least, not someplace as expensive or fancy as this one ought to be. Whoever owned this place would probably freak if they found out she was here.

Just as she was about to get out of the bed and leave, she noticed one last thing: music. It was very faint, and she didn't recall hearing it when she woke up, but she could just make out the notes of what sounded like a piano. She listened for a moment, but her curiosity soon got the better of her. She slowly climbed out of the bed, but nearly fell as she found it hard to stand at first. As she made her way to the door, which was the same color of wood as the nightstand, she hesitated for a moment. Was this a good idea? She decided she would just look, and then get out of there before she was spotted.

She opened the door a little to peek outside, and then opened it further as she realized there was nobody around. Outside the room was a long white hall with a red carpet going all the way to each end and then around the corner. The hall was almost totally bare, save for some furniture which mainly consisted of candlesticks on small tables against one wall and a grandfather clock in the middle, and then more doors equally spaced along the same wall as her own. The room she was in was more towards the left end of the hall, according to her current point of view. As she listened, she realized the music was coming from the other end of the hall, to her right. She tiptoed into the hall, and then nearly lost her balance again, but regained it before she could fall. She then quietly shut the door behind her and began to walk towards the source of the music she was hearing. As she neared the end of the hall, the music seemed to get louder, and she could hear each note now. It sounded beautiful. When she rounded the corner, the hall seemed to widen, and she spotted a large pair of double-doors in the middle of the hall against the opposite side. They were also brown just like the other doors, but this pair was large and ornately carved. Not only that, but they were wide open, and she quickly realized the music was coming from there. She approached them hesitantly, then peeked around the corner to find yet another hall. This one was somewhat short, however, and was also totally empty save for the red carpet. At the other end was another pair of double doors exactly like the ones at her end. Only one of these doors was open, and it was only open halfway. She snuck over to it and then peeked around to see into the room on the other side, to see who was playing this beautiful tune, which she could hear clearly now. What she saw there stunned her. It was a boy, no older than 18, with neatly combed blond hair and glasses. He was in the middle of a large round room of the same stone as the rest of the place, playing a black grand piano with the top open. The room had no carpet, but it did have three large windows, windows that shined with the light of the morning sun and lit up the room to the point that electric lights would have no purpose. The windows were perfectly clear, and outside she could glimpse the leaves of trees and bushes blowing in the light breeze.

She realized that she was looking a little too far into the room and that she might be seen before long. She pulled back into the hall and hid behind the open door where there was just enough space between the doorframe and the wall for her to hide, then peeked through the crack between the door and the frame so she might listen to the music without worry. _It's so beautiful, _she thought to herself. It sounded like the perfect mix of calmingly beautiful tones, and it almost had a haunting effect to it. She felt strangely relaxed as she listened to it.

She looked at the boy again. Something about him seemed…familiar. She noticed his gold jacket with red and white trim, his dark blue jeans and white tennis shoes. Yes, there was definitely something familiar about him…but what? She just couldn't remember. Then, the previous day's events all came rushing back to her, and it hit her so hard she turned around and slunk to the ground in fear. She pulled her knees up against her as she remembered the butcher, the large meat cleaver he had brandished, the threats he had used against her and his attempts to kill her. Then she remembered the boy. THIS boy. This boy had saved her from the man…but why? She couldn't think of one reason for him to save her like that. After all, she was nothing but an abomination. Not only that, but this boy was clearly dangerous. What was it he had done…some sort of magic? She remembered him clapping his hands together, and some kind of blue light coming from them. She would have to be careful…or would she? He'd acted unusually kind toward her. Perhaps he wasn't such a bad person…

She came back to her senses as the song changed tone, sounding like it was beginning to end. She turned back around onto her knees and looked through the crack again. The song did not end however, but instead changed slightly, so the melody became one that reminded her of the end of the sunset and the beginning of the night. It grew in intensity, and then began to slow in pace, growing quieter until at last it had ended. The boy did not start playing something else, nor did he get up and leave. Instead he set his hands in his lap and sat there for a moment, his head down and his eyes closed as he took in the atmosphere of the moment. She realized he was not smiling, but instead had a look of sadness on his face. She began to wonder why. It seemed like a full minute had passed before the boy closed the lid on the keys and stood up from the black piano bench to leave. As he turned to face the doors, she turned around suddenly, trying to remain hidden as she resisted the urge to panic. She had stayed too long! What would happen if he saw her? All she could hope to do now was stay where she was, hidden in the shadow of the door, and hope he didn't see her.

He walked out the door and started heading down the little hall. When he didn't notice her, she waited until he had reached the other double doors before giving a quiet sigh of relief. Unfortunately, that was all it took. He stopped suddenly, then turned his head to look behind him._ Oh no, how did he hear that?_, she thought, as her face once again turned to one of fear.

"Well, the young princess has finally woken up," he said, turning away from the hall's exit with a kind smile on his face. "I knew I had heard something."

She pulled her knees up closer to her chest as he walked toward her. She still wasn't sure if she could fully trust him yet. He noticed this and stopped in his tracks for a moment as his demeanor fell to one of disappointment. "Still don't trust me, eh? I guess I can understand why. A random guy shows up, saves your life with remarkable abilities for reasons unknown, and then carries you into his large mansion when he sees you can't walk. Yeah, I gotta admit, that would probably seem rather suspicious if I were in your position. Still, I'm all you've got right now…" he closed the distance between them and knelt in front of her. She reacted by trying in vain to tuck herself even further into the corner.

"Hey, calm down. I'm not going to hurt you," he replied, holding his hands up as if to show he had nothing to hide. "I only want to help." He leaned toward her and held out his right hand. "Do you trust me?"

She looked at his hand, then back at him. As she continued to hesitate, he decided to change his wording to something more appropriate.

"Heh, I guess what I should be asking is…are you **willing **to trust me?" he asked her again. She saw his smile fall a little as she continued to hesitate. Was he truly worried for her? Past experience told her to trust no one, but…nobody had treated her so kindly, so carefully, for as long as she could remember. Not since the incident that made her what she was. He seemed nice enough, but with the skill he had shown against the butcher from before, it was possible his mind was elaborate and twisted enough to make all of his actions one big cruel joke. But then, she was probably thinking too much. If he had wanted to get rid of her, he probably would have done so by now. Her concentration was broken for a moment as he suddenly spoke.

"I see…" he said as his smile fell and he pulled back. He looked down at the ground, his face hidden in shadow as he thought about her lack of response. She could see clearly now that he really was worried about her, although why, she could not fathom. She hated to disappoint someone like him, someone who meant nothing against her. She even began to feel that, somehow, he was just like her. She didn't know why, but she couldn't seem to shake that feeling. Something was telling her she should accept his hospitality, even if he seemed suspicious at first. She decided it was for the best, and held out her right hand. He looked up at her, and she saw hope begin to fill his eyes again, as his smile returned and he grabbed her hand in his.

"Great, I knew I could count on you," he said quietly. "Now let's go get you something to eat!" He helped her to her feet and began to lead her out into the main hall.

"I'll bet you haven't eaten much for a long time. Am I right in this assumption?" he asked her after they had entered the kitchen. She nodded her response as she sat down at the brown dining table in the middle of the room.

"As I thought. In that case, you probably wouldn't be able to handle a lot of food, so I would suggest starting light until your stomach is more used to large amounts. Hmm…" he trailed off as he began to think about what she could eat that wouldn't upset her stomach but would still give her a decent amount of nutrition. He finally settled on a simple piece of toast and some juice.

"Alright, how about we start with a piece of toast for now? We can gradually increase the amounts with each meal. You'll be back to eating normally before you know it!" he said as he put a piece of bread in the white toaster-oven. He made a mental note to get some more bread later, as he had failed to do so when he had found her and forgotten to go back since. He got out a glass from a nearby cupboard, set it on the counter, and then stopped for a moment as something occurred to him.

"You like apple juice, right?" he asked her. She waited for a moment, trying to remember as she hadn't had juice in a long time, then nodded, figuring that even if she didn't like it, food was food, and she wouldn't know until she tried it anyway. He reached into the large metallic fridge and pulled out a pitcher of the drink. She just watched him as he poured some into the glass he had gotten for her.

"There ya go," he stated as he set down the pitcher and set her glass in front of her. She began to drink it almost immediately. "Now don't drink it too fast or you may not feel so good later. Trust me; I know what I am talking about." She stopped drinking and looked at him questioningly. The young man had gone to grab a glass for himself, and so he didn't notice this until he had turned around. Once he had, he sighed and began to explain as he sat down at the other end of the table. "Let's just say, drinking juice too fast or too much tends to make me sick to my stomach later in the day, and although it may just be me, this is still more likely to happen to you due to your lack of nutrition and low food intake over the past…however long you've been this way." She continued to look confused, but shrugged it off as she took another sip.

They waited in awkward silence for about a minute more, and then he broke the silence with another question. "Now that I think about it, do you even remember my name?" She thought for a moment, but realized she couldn't. She shook her head in response. He grinned to himself for his small mistake. "I figured you wouldn't remember it after falling asleep for two days." That detail caused her to look up in surprise. Two days!?

Her reaction didn't go unnoticed. "Yeah, that's right, two days. The day I found you was two days ago, at almost this exact time. You fell asleep in my arms and managed to stay asleep through the rest of that night and clean through yesterday and this morning, which is kinda surprising considering I had to set you down for a moment to unlock the front door!" He paused as he chuckled to himself at the memory. "Anyway, my name's Shike. Try to remember that." He paused again, as something occurred to him. "You know, I never did get your name. Would you mind telling me?"

The young chimera simply looked at him as she tried to process this new information. The day she had been rescued had not been yesterday, but two days ago? Wow. Her thoughts turned to his new question, and she began to think. Giving him her name could be a bad idea, but it could also be a good one. On one hand, it could give him a way of tracking her if he turned out to be hostile. On the other hand, this could come in handy, were she ever to get lost and need him to find her…

Shike simply watched her figure out what her answer would be, and he began to wonder if she would answer at all. Heck, perhaps it wasn't that she wouldn't, but that she **couldn't**. He hadn't heard her speak once since he had first seen her in that alley. The toaster dinged, and Shike walked over and pulled the toast out of it, setting it onto a small plate. "Would you like any butter on it?" he asked her. When she shook her head, he set the plate in front of her. She began to nibble on the toast, careful not to take huge bites despite her hunger.

Shike simply watched her for a moment as she began taking small bites of the toast, then turned to the side and lay face-up across his own chair and the one next to it as he began to think about what to do during the rest of the day. His thoughts began to drift until he found himself thinking about ways to improve his alchemy skill. He decided to switch to something he should have thought of sooner: how he would increase his income to accommodate for the chimera girl. He didn't have much of an income since he didn't have an official job, but he was able to get by on his own by designing weapons for a local blacksmith. Perhaps he could design twice as many each week, or perhaps he could…no, that wouldn't work, because that would require leaving her alone, something that he couldn't do with her in her current state. That left only one option that he could think of…

"K-Katie…" he heard a quiet voice say. Shike immediately shot up in his seat and looked at the girl, wide-eyed in surprise and curiosity. She had finished her meal and her juice, and was now looking at him with sad but trusting eyes. "My n-name…is Katie…" she said again.

Shike looked at her from his side of the table. A smile suddenly formed on his face, and he said "Well, so she speaks! Wonderful! I was starting to get worried that you couldn't talk!" He chuckled to himself again, then looked back at her. "So your name's Katie, huh?" he said in a softer tone as he turned in his chair to face her. "I like it. It suits you perfectly." The corners of her mouth turned up into a small grin as she looked down in embarrassment. He obviously had no trouble giving people compliments, even the kind that made you blush. Unbeknownst to her, he actually did, but always felt it better to compliment someone than to keep his thoughts to himself and look like the kind of person who didn't notice or didn't care. Even then, there were some times when he wouldn't say what was on his mind because it was more proper or, on some occasions, his compliment could be mistaken for flirting.

"Well then, Katie, it seems you've finished your meal. I assume it's been a while since you've had a proper bath…" Shike paused to think for a moment. "How about you go get a bath while I go find you something else to wear that isn't so worn?"

She began to blush a bit, but she found that she was rather eager for a bath. He was right in assuming she hadn't had one for a while. She nodded in agreement, and he led her to where the bathroom was. After she had shut the door behind her, he wandered off to see if he had any shirts big enough to cover her until they could get something better.

Shike eventually reached his own room, a rather large room with a dark brown bookshelf against the wall a few feet away from to door, a light-brown and somewhat worn dresser against the back wall, an average-sized bed with a blue sheet and blue blanket in the back-left corner, and a dark brown desk with shelves on top and underneath it sitting against the right wall. There was a closed window with red drapes in the back wall as well, which he rarely uncovered and almost never opened, although he did have a sword of a far eastern type displayed on the windowsill, its silhouette showing dramatically against the light behind it. The desk was cluttered with papers and other things, but the shelves were less messy, although the items arranged on them weren't exactly important enough to keep clean. The dresser was also cluttered with items on top, although these items were more important, such as a pair of knives in the box they came in and a flashlight.

Shike walked over to his dresser, opened the second drawer, and began looking through his various shirts, trying to find one that would be big enough and that he didn't wear much any more. He finally settled on a light brown one that would at least look decent on her, considering her fur color. He headed back to the bathroom Katie was in, announced his arrival and his intentions, and then opened the door just enough to hang the shirt on the doorknob before closing it again. He then told her he would be at his piano when she was done, and began heading down the hall.

After Katie had gotten out of the bath and dried off, she grabbed the shirt Shike had left for her and put it on. Considering that she currently had nothing else to wear, the shirt would be perfect for the time being. The hem came down to just below her knees, so it certainly covered her enough. She left the bathroom, got disoriented for a bit as she tried to remember the path she had taken to get there, and then headed off to meet Shike as soon as she got her bearings. Upon reaching him again, he heard her footsteps and turned on the piano bench to face her.

"You made it! I was getting worried you wouldn't be able to find me! Then again, this place is pretty easy to navigate once you've been in it for a while." Shike chuckled to himself, and then continued. "So does the shirt work alright for you? If it's too uncomfortable or anything, I can go find something else."

She looked down at herself for a moment. Comfort hadn't really held much value to her for a long time now. She finally nodded to him.

"Great, that means we might not have to go out in public to get you something better for a while, so you can relax in that regard. Now, what should I play next...?" he said to himself as he turned back to face the piano with his hand on his chin. Then he got up and went behind the bench, pulling open the top to reveal a compartment full of books, folders, and stapled packets of paper all containing piano music. He began sifting through the different songs inside.

"Maybe I should do…no, that wouldn't work, it's not moody enough..." he said to himself. "Perhaps I could do-"

"What…" Katie said, interrupting his train of thought. He looked at her with puzzlement.

"What is it? Is there something you want to know?" he asked her.

She looked almost reluctant to ask him, but continued nonetheless. "What…um…what was…that song…from before?"

He looked at her for a moment before saying "Oh! You mean the one I was playing when you woke up earlier?" She nodded. Shike bent down to her level. "That one was called 'Hal/Nuance'. It's one of my favorites, to be honest. It's always so calm, and yet so dramatic at the same time. Sometimes it reminds me of the sunset or sunrise, and sometimes it reminds me of rain or of the cool night breeze. What do you think of it?"

She thought for a moment, looking very shy as usual. _Her shyness is so adorable,_ Shike thought to himself.

She continued to look down as she gave her answer. "It was…very beautiful…"

She looked back up at Shike as he smiled and began to speak again. "Glad to hear you agree. You know, having the courage to ask such questions just to satisfy your curiosity, especially questions as unimportant as that…that's a very good trait to have. Some people don't have the will to ask such things, as they deem it too irresponsible or too unimportant to be worth asking without looking or feeling like an over-curious idiot." He suddenly put his hand on her shoulder. "Whatever you're doing to give yourself that courage, keep it up!"

He stood up. "Now, speaking of calm music, would you like to hear another song by the same songwriter?"

She nodded her response. He reached inside the bench and pulled out a packet of music, then shut the lid and set the music on the piano so he could read it.

"This one is literally called 'Calm'," he said as he began playing. She noticed that he wasn't looking at the pages, but rather at his hands as he played. She stopped looking at his hands and began to look around the room. She realized now that the room was octagonal with every wall being equal width and height. The wall opposite the door as well as the walls on the left and right each had a tall ornate window with a rose design in a circle at the top. The windows reminded her of those in churches, as they curved to a point at the top with the rose design directly underneath, but they were not stained-glass. The walls and floor were also made of marble, but this marble was almost completely white, without any obvious black or gray streaks in it. The ceiling was higher up than it was in the other rooms she had been in, and it seemed to end in a point as well, suggesting that the roof was actually a turret. There was an unlit torch in each wall that didn't have a window, and each torch had a pair of electric lights shaped like crystals on either side. She began to wonder what this was for. Other than that, the room was practically empty except for the large black Grand Piano in the middle of the room, which Shike now sat at while playing yet another beautiful tune.

As Katie was thinking these thoughts and taking it all in, Shike was having thoughts of his own, thoughts about his financing and how he would keep her protected. _Yes,_ he thought to himself, _I will do it. For her, it will be worth it. It's time I became…a State Alchemist._

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And there you go! The end of the beginning! Now you must wait for the next chapter, in which two certain alchemists will show up for reasons currently unknown to everyone but me and a select few. MWAHAHAHAHAAA! Oh yeah, don't forget to leave a review please! I REALLY need your feedback!

EDIT: I also forgot about a little thing I thought some of you would like to know. Hal/Nuance is a real song I found on SoundCloud. It's a piano arrangement by Scamper, and if you want to hear it, you can search it on the website. Just type "Hal/Nuance" in the search bar at the top of the main page and it should be the first thing that pops up. For those of you who recognize the three or four songs it's made of, good for you. If not, oh well, it's still beautiful all the same. Personally, I like it more than the individual songs by themselves. I would love for you people to tell me what you thought about how well I described it so I can know if I did a good job or not, so let me know in a review please! ;) And by the way, I was listening to that song most of the time that I was typing this chapter, and I will probably do the same for later chapters just because it's so beautiful and perfect for a lot of what I wanted this story to have, so if you want to listen to it while you read or reread this, don't hesitate to do so!


	4. Chapter 3: Awkward Introductions

Hey people, new chapter, yay! It might seem a little awkward (and not totally in the same way implied by the title), like some of the other chapters, but I was never good with social moments between multiple people. I do good with short stories, first-person accounts, conversations between two people, etc. Even so, I am quite proud of this chapter, and I think I may have gotten Ed's personality quite well in it, so read on and enjoy! By the way, my little blurb at the bottom holds some importance and some facts you may find interesting about this story, so go ahead and read that too when you are done with the chapter...

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**Chapter 3: Awkward Introductions**

_About a month later…_

"Argh, it's so cold out here! Where the heck is this town at!?"

"Brother, stop complaining! It shouldn't be too far now…"

"It had better be close! My automail is going to kill me at this rate!"

"Brother…"

"I'm sorry Al, but you can't feel a thing! Meanwhile, I can feel DOUBLE the cold of a normal person due to the automail! Man, as soon as we find this town, I'm calling Winry in to fix my arm and leg for this weather!"

"That sounds like a good idea!"

Both brothers perked up a little at the thought of seeing their lifelong friend after such a short time away. It had only been a few days ago that they had last seen her, and although they were used to leaving for long periods of time, it wasn't often they got to see her again so shortly. To them, it would feel like they had never left, and that's just how they liked it.

They continued to trudge across the vast plains of grass ahead of them as they headed to a town just outside the western border of Amestris. They had never heard of this town before, and it wasn't often they ended up this far to the west, so the cold weather caught them by surprise, especially since they were used to the extreme heat of the summer months that this area was known for.

"Look! I think that's it!" the big suit of armor known as Alphonse Elric declared as they came over the top of a hill. His older but shorter brother, Edward Elric, who was now shivering from the extreme cold he was experiencing, looked in the direction Al was facing as he came over the top of the hill to join him. Sure enough, they could see the lights of a city in the distance.

"Yeah, I think you're right. We found it at last! Hurry up Al, let's get down there before I freeze to death!"

With that, Edward bolted off down the hill, intent on getting someplace warm as soon as he possibly could. Unfortunately, he wasn't watching where he was going, and before Al could warn him, he found himself falling forward as he tripped on a small mound of snow.

"Brother!" Al yelled and began to run after him as Edward started rolling down the hill, yelling all the way. Ed finally rolled to a stop, arms tucked close to his chest so as to keep himself protected. Al caught up to him just as he was standing up.

"Brother! Are you okay!?" Al said to him worriedly.

"Ow…" Ed said as he began to rub a spot on his cheek where he had scraped himself. "Yeah Al, I'm fine. Just a little banged up. And a bit startled." He wrapped his arms around himself as he began to shiver again. "At least I'm not QUITE as cold as before. Come on, let's get to that town. It looks like it'll be dark soon."

Al looked up at the sky. The sun was indeed about to set, and most shops and inns would be closing for the night within the next hour.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Don't go running off again though."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. Now come on!" Ed began jogging to their destination as Al followed close behind.

They reached the town just as the sun was starting to set and the sky was beginning to change color. Ed immediately rushed into the nearest public building, a butcher shop, and slunk to the floor in exhaustion. As Al stood by the door looking around the small shop, Ed simply sat there, panting as he began to warm up again, until he heard a gruff voice say "Are you going to sit there or are you going to buy something?"

Ed looked up to see a bald, slightly pale man in a white apron standing behind the counter, giving him an irritated look. His apron was stained with blood from the meat he had been cutting, and judging by his fat but tough build, it was probably not a good idea to make him mad.

Al spoke up first. "Sorry sir, we were just hiding from the cold for a bit. We'll be gone once we're warmed up."

The man's face softened a bit, but not by much. "Well, you can't stay here too long. I'm about to close up shop."

Ed spoke this time. "Well in that case, do you know where the nearest inn is at? We'll need a place to stay for the night."

The butcher turned to Ed now. "Not from around here, huh? The good news is, we actually have an inn, and it's open at all times. The bad news is that it's on the other side of town."

"Argh, dangit…" Ed sighed.

"Perhaps we can go door-hopping until we get there," Al said as he moved away from the door.

"Door hopping?" Ed said quizzically.

"Yeah, you know, we keep entering and exiting buildings along the way so we don't freeze to death."

"You know Al, that's not such a bad idea. After all, we've had to do that during bad rainstorms before, although that was just going from porch to porch, not actually going inside…"

"True…" Al agreed.

As they sat there and thought for a moment, the butcher gave them a slight glare. "Well, whatever you do, hurry up and get out of here when you finish warming up so I can close up shop." As he turned around to head into the back room, he began to mumble to himself. "First that little thieving brat, and now this…"

Ed happened to overhear, and anything to do with action was something he wanted to hear. "Excuse me sir, did you just say something about a thief?"

The butcher turned back to him. "Uh, yeah. What about it?"

"Well, we're State Alchemists, so it's kind of our job to find out what we can about public affairs and to solve any problems that arise. That and I'm just curious, as we've never been here before, so it would be nice to know about anything we should watch out for."

The butcher sighed as he recalled the incident that had occurred only a month ago.

"It's nothing big. In fact, it happened only about a month ago. There was a thieving little demon that kept going around trying to steal stuff from people, myself included. At the time, this place was more of a booth than a shop, so it was easy for her to nab something when I wasn't looking. I finally got fed up with it, but just when I was about to rid this place of the thing, some kid stepped in and stopped me. I don't know what he did, some kind of sorcery or something, but he managed to stop me and all the other people that had gathered to get rid of her. From what I hear, he ended up taking her home that night, but I haven't seen either of them since."

Ed and Al began to take all this in as the butcher walked into the back room again. Sorcery? Probably alchemy. A demon, though? That was something they didn't hear every day.

"Hey Al," Ed began to whisper, "Do you think this 'demon' could be anything important?"

"I don't know. I thought maybe it was just a term the butcher used because he hated her."

"That could be…"

"I'm wondering who this kid was that defended her, and why."

"Yeah, that's true…why would someone defend a thief, and why would they need alchemy to do it?"

These thoughts continued to rest on their minds until the butcher returned to the room.

"You two are still here!?" he bellowed.

Ed and Al jumped in surprise.

"Uh, sorry sir, we seem to be all warmed up now!" Ed said hurriedly.

"Uh, yeah, I guess we'll be going now! Bye!" Al threw in his own rushed reply as both of them began to bolt out the door. Al suddenly poked his head back in and said "And thanks for the help!" before shutting the door and rushing after Ed, who had already begun running off to their next destination, wherever that may be.

"Darn kids…" the butcher mumbled as he went back to closing up shop.

The two brothers continued entering and exiting any public places that happened to be open as they moved on down the road. As they were entering a tea shop, they spotted an oddly dressed man sitting on his own, the only customer in the shop. To their surprise, he looked at them, and his face immediately lit up as he said, "Oh goodie, people! Won't you come sit for a moment and have a talk with me? I get so lonely sometimes, being the only frequent customer here."

Ed and Al looked at each other in bewilderment. Who was this guy? They both shrugged and figured they were cold enough anyway, so they might as well. As they sat down in two of the remaining three chairs at the round wooden table, the man took another sip of his tea before setting it down and speaking again.

"Now, we can't forget introductions, so who are you two?" he said as he rested his chin on his hands, a cheesy grin on his face.

The brothers both gave him confused looks, although Al's wasn't much different from his normal one due to him being a suit of armor, before Ed decided to speak up. "Um, considering that we are your guests, shouldn't you be introducing yourself first?"

The man's smile fell for barely a moment before it grew just a bit larger than before. The man stood up and held his arms out wide as he introduced himself. "I am known around here as the Mad Hatter, named after the popular character for obvious reasons." He began to walk slowly around the table, gesturing with his hands as he spoke. "Some say I'm crazy. Some even go so far as to say that I am insane, which is closer to the truth than the former." He began walking back around the other direction. "Others call me a visionary, with a few calling me a genius. Again, both are very true." He stopped behind them and grabbed their shoulders, then bent down so his head was between each of theirs. He looked at each of them in turn as he said, "Only those who truly get it would say that I am both insane and a genius. So far, there is only one in this town who thinks of me as such. He is the one person around here who thinks of me as a friend, and I think of him likewise." He stood up again and went back to his chair. After he sat down, he added "Most people just call me Hatter." He looked at them with a look of wonder in his eyes. "How about you two?"

The brothers looked utterly stunned. This man was incredibly weird compared to most. They had to admit though, despite his odd personality and actions, there was something about him that just seemed…likable. And although his introduction had been odd as well, something about it seemed likably dramatic. Still, weird people like this could be dangerous, so they didn't let down their guard, despite how incredibly disarming his personality was. Instead, they introduced themselves in the only way they knew how.

"Um, I'm Edward Elric, and this is my brother Alphonse…" he said uneasily, gesturing to the suit of armor at the mention of his brother's name. Al just said "Uh, hi!" as if he was unsure what to say.

Hatter's smile fell to a look of surprised puzzlement. "That's it?" he said. "That's all you are? Nothing interesting about you two, nothing worth noting? Nothing at all?"

"Not really…" Ed said.

Hatter's smile returned. "I know you're lying. You two are alchemists. You, Ed, are a State Alchemist. And a pretty good one at that, I reckon."

Both brothers stood up in surprise as Ed slammed his hands on the table and yelled "WHAT!? How did you know that!?" His guard was up for sure now.

Hatter continued to smile as he clasped his hands together in his lap. "Well, first of all, it's not hard to look inside the eyeholes of one's helmet and realize there's nobody inside. Not with the way the light shines right on his face." Al looked startled when he said this. "And I can tell you are a State Alchemist, Edward Elric, because I can see part of the silver chain sticking out of your pocket." He pointed at Edward's pocket, and Ed stuck his hand in it in an attempt to push the chain back in. Hatter continued. "I know you are a good alchemist because you are the youngest State Alchemist I have ever even heard of. Simple as that."

Both boys stared as they slowly sat down. This guy was much smarter than he let on.

"Now, what brings you two here at a time like this, hmm?" Hatter asked the two of them.

Ed was still weirded out, so Al was the first to speak. "Well, sir, we came here on orders. We were told to find someone, a new State Alchemist. We don't yet know why, other than to deliver some papers to him, but General Mustang said to send him a letter once we got there and he would tell us the rest then."

Hatter looked completely interested. "And who is this new State Alchemist? Perhaps I know them!"

It was Ed's turn to talk now. "We don't really know. He was described as being an 18-year-old boy with short blond hair and glasses. The description also said he would probably be wearing a jacket, although that doesn't do us much good with this kind of weather."

Hatter looked thoughtful, but retained his grin. "Hmmm… an 18-year-old male alchemist with short blond hair, glasses, and a jacket? Believe it or not, that sounds exactly like the friend I mentioned earlier!"

Ed's eyes widened. "Are you sure!? That friend of yours is the alchemist we're looking for!?"

"No doubt about it," Hatter exclaimed as he leaned back and shut his eyes.

Ed was bewildered once again. "Well then, can you tell use where we can find him!?"

Hatter opened his eyes again to look at them. "Did you happen to see a dirt road at the corner of the street on your way here?"

"N-no…" Ed replied.

"Well, there is one. Follow it out and you should eventually come across a large mansion. It's more of a small castle, really, as far as size goes. He lives there. I'm sure he will have no problem letting you stay there if you need it."

Ed and Al immediately stood up.

"In that case, let's get going Al!" Ed stated.

"Uh, hang on Ed!" Al replied back. He turned to Hatter. "Thanks for the help sir! Your information was really useful! We'll be sure to ask you if we need any more help! How can we find you if we need to?"

Hatter stopped leaning back in his chair and looked at Al as he answered. "Oh, I can usually be found wandering the streets or hanging around this tea shop. Trust me, if you need me, you'll find me." He winked, although neither Ed nor Al knew why.

"Well, thanks again sir!" Al stated before turning to leave.

"That was fun! We should do that again sometime!" Hatter called as they left.

They followed his instructions the moment they left the tea shop. Sure enough, there was a dirt road leading away from the corner of the street. They began to follow it, Ed running as fast as he could so he wouldn't freeze to death on the way. It was already completely dark out now, so they found themselves straying from the path a few times. By the time they made it to the double-doors in the front of the house, Ed was shivering uncontrollably and could barely move. Al knocked in his place, his metal fists clanging against the door loudly. Even so, nobody answered. Ed pointed out a doorbell they had missed before, and Al pushed it. After waiting for almost thirty seconds, the doors opened slowly just a bit before someone on the other side spoke.

"Who are you and why are you here?" The voice sounded male, but rather young.

Ed couldn't contain his anger at the weather any longer. "WE ARE THE ELRIC BROTHERS AND I'M FREEZING MY BUTT OFF! LET US IN BEFORE I BARGE IN MYSELF!"

"You're the Elric Brothers!? In that case, hurry up and get inside!" The doors opened wide as Ed rushed in until he could no longer feel the cold air coming in from outside. Al simply ducked his head as he walked inside. The voice continued to speak as the person it belonged to shut the doors behind them. "You shouldn't be out in weather like that without the appropriate automail! No wonder you're freezing!"

"Yeah, I plan to call my mechanic as soon as I'm able!" Ed said as he turned around to meet their host. Al turned as well, and what they saw surprised them. The voice belonged to exactly the person they had been looking for: a blond-haired boy with glasses and a gold sports jacket. However, his voice had sounded like something younger, and he even looked to be about 16 or 17.

"My name is Shike," the boy said as he shook Al's hand. "I assume you've been looking for me?" Now that he was closer, they could see that he had dark blue eyes with a hint of white in them that gave the impression of water that was beginning to freeze.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Al asked him.

"Because," he stated simply, "I don't get many visitors here, especially not at this time of year when coming here would require that long walk in the cold. For you two to come here must mean that you were looking for me specifically."

"Well, you certainly have us there," Ed stated as Shike shook hands with him. Ed noted his softer grip, despite him being a State Alchemist.

"You must be hungry, and you are obviously freezing, judging by my own knowledge and your outburst from earlier," Shike stated matter-of-factly. "We can talk in the kitchen while I get some hot cocoa for you guys. Well, mainly just you, Ed."

Ed and Al sat on one side of an average-sized dining table as they waited for Shike to get the cocoa started. Ed noticed the floor in this room was made of white and black marble tiles in a checkerboard pattern. The table also seemed to be made of a light-brown wood with a bit of a hasty finish, as it seemed the finish had failed to do its job in some places. There were clear signs of things like hot pads getting stuck to it at times. Despite all this, it managed to fit in rather well with the surrounding area. Maybe it was because this dining room was a little on the small side compared to what was usually seen in mansions this size.

Shike walked out of the kitchen. "So I believe you have something to give me? I would like to look at it while the water heats up."

"Um, yeah, here," Ed said, pulling out a white envelope with a government seal on it. He handed it to Shike, who opened it and pulled out the papers inside as he leaned on the edge of the table. He looked at one that seemed to be some sort of certificate, then grinned.

"The Tricky Alchemist, huh?" he stated as if amused.

"Tricky alchemist?" Ed asked, expecting something more original.

"Yup. My guess is that it's because, when asked why I think I would qualify to be a State Alchemist, I simply replied "Because I am a quick learner and have most of the alchemical knowledge other State Alchemists have, and I also happen to know a few tricks of my own that not many seem to figure out."

"Hm, that makes sense, I guess," Ed stated flatly.

"Hey Ed, aren't you forgetting something?"

Ed looked up to see Shike holding his hand out. It took him a moment to realize what he meant.

"Oh, yeah, your pocket watch! Um… here!" he said as he pulled the shiny new silver pocket watch with the State Alchemist logo on it out of his pocket and handed it to Shike. Shike examined it a little, opening it and looking at the clock inside, then spent a little time tinkering with it while he tried to set it to the correct time. Afterward, he put it in his jacket pocket and then gave a quick "Be right back!" before walking back into the kitchen. Ed and Al waited, Ed still a little cold thanks to his metal appendages. After Shike returned, he was holding two mugs of cocoa in his hands. He handed one to Ed, who accepted it with thanks, then sat down across from the two brothers.

"So, now that that's out of the way, how was your trip here?" Shike asked, looking at both brothers as he blew on his cocoa a bit to cool it down. Ed was already taking a long sip from his own mug.

"Aaaaaah, that's PERFECT," he sighed as the warmth began to rush through his body, warming him up almost completely.

"Ed…" Al spoke, looking at his older brother. "Shike was talking to us…"

"Huh? What?" Ed said, first looking at Al before looking at their host. Shike seemed a little annoyed, but they could tell he was trying not to show it.

"I said how was your trip here?" Shike repeated.

"Oh," Ed said flatly. "It was a bit of a pain actually. We knew we had to walk here from the nearest town, but we didn't know it would be so far, nor did we know it would be so cold over here. Speaking of which, isn't it usually warm in these areas?"

"Sometimes," Shike replied, "but that depends on what time of year you come. It gets warm in the summer months, but when winter comes around, it can get a real nip in the air. I've realized that seems to be the case with more places: you don't just have cold places and hot places. In locations like this, there is mild weather, and extreme weather. Places with extreme weather are hotter in summer and colder in winter than places with mild weather, so you could say it's a bit tougher out here, especially since the weather here seems to have gotten a bit random lately."

"Random?" Al asked.

"Yup. Some days it will actually be rather warm for a winter day, to the point where I barely even need more than a t-shirt to stay warm, but it could be three-layers cold just a day later."

"Heh, I guess it's a good thing I can't feel temperatures then!" Al stated happily.

"Yeah, says the one that's all metal and no skin! That's TERRIBLE news for me!" Ed announced while glaring at Al with apparent jealousy, causing Shike to laugh a little.

"Anyway, please continue, Ed," Shike stated simply, now taking a sip of his own drink.

"Well, we finally made it to town, and the first place we stopped was a butcher's place. We only stopped to warm up a little, but it turns out he was about to close up shop. He mentioned something about a kid messing up his plans to get rid of a thief." Shike tensed, but thankfully neither of the brothers noticed. "Eventually he kicked us out so he could finish closing up, and we went from shelter to shelter from there as we tried to find the town's inn. Eventually, we stopped in a teashop, where we encountered a friend of yours who directed us to your location. I must say, I don't know how we would have found you without his help."

"Why is that?" Shike asked, clearly curious.

"Well, it's hard to find someone when all you have to go on is their hair color and clothing," Ed said, surprised that Shike was asking.

Shike's face went blank for a moment, until a grin grew on his face as he began chuckling to himself. "You mean to say that you didn't think to look at the letter you brought me to find out my name!?"

Both brothers looked at each other, suddenly dumbfounded. A moment later, Ed grew angry at himself and smacked his forehead with his right hand so hard he fell out of his seat clutching his head.

"OW! Gosh, I feel so STUPID now! And to think things could have gone much smoother if we had thought to figure out his NAME!" he yelled as he rubbed his forehead. Al continued to stare at Ed, still bewildered, but more embarrassed for his brother's inability to remember his own strength and the fact that metal hurts more than flesh. Shike watched the whole spectacle play out, grinning as he chuckled lightly to himself.

They continued to make light chatter for about the next hour, exchanging stories of events and past knowledge until the brothers eventually decided they were ready to turn in for the night. It was then that Al remembered something.

"Ed," he asked, "Weren't you going to call Winry as soon as we got here?"

Ed had to refrain from smacking is still-sore forehead again as he realized he had forgotten something so important. He immediately asked Shike where the nearest phone was, but Shike simply told him there would be a phone in the bedroom they would stay in for the night. After cleaning up the mugs and leading them to their room, Shike explained that he was a bit of a night owl and would probably be up for another hour or so, so if they needed anything, they could probably find him somewhere on the main floor.

After Shike left, Ed picked up the receiver and began dialing the number to Winry's house, hoping she was still awake. To his great joy, she was, but she wasn't exactly happy.

"Edward Elric, why the HELL are you calling at this hour!? In fact, I'm surprised you're calling at all, but NOW!? You'd better have a good explanation!"

Ed was holding the phone away from his head in an attempt to avoid going deaf. He put the phone to his ear again before speaking. "Sorry Winry, I forgot. I got into a conversation with the guy we're staying with, and I was freezing. That's actually why I'm calling. I need you to travel out here so you can outfit my automail for extreme weather."

There was silence on the phone for a few moments, and then…

"You called me this late at night for THAT!? Geez, Ed, did it EVER occur to you that you could call me in the morning, especially since I won't be able to leave until tomorrow ANYWAY!?"

"I DIDN'T WANT TO FORGET AGAIN! And besides, why are you making such a big fuss out of it if you weren't asleep yet anyway!?"

"Because I was getting ready to and because you are LUCKY I wasn't already! I swear, you are lucky you aren't around here or I'd pound you to a pulp right now!" She stopped for a moment, and then her tone of voice suddenly went calm as her curiosity got the better of her. "Speaking of which, where are you anyway?"

"We are in a city called Ducrean. It's just outside the west border of Amestris, but is technically still part of the country. You can ride a train to the nearest city, but you will have to walk the rest of the way. Be prepared for cold weather, but don't be surprised if it turns out to be barely cold enough for a coat. According to our host, the weather has been rather random lately. All I know is that I felt like my arm and leg were going to fall off by the time we got here."

Winry realized this may actually be serious, although she was surprised as well. Disappointed that it wasn't Rush Valley, but surprised that it was a city she hadn't heard much about, if she had even heard of it before. She decided to plan for an early trip so her walk to the city would be later in the day when it would likely be warmer, not to mention safer as well. Perhaps it was a good thing Ed called her this late at night in that regard, but she didn't want to show it. She was still pissed.

"Alright, fine, I'll be there by tomorrow night. Your automail had BETTER not be busted by the time I get there though!"

"Alright, alright, geez, no need to get on my case all the time! I'll see you tomorrow then!" Ed responded, annoyed that she always complained about him wrecking his automail. With that, he hung up the phone and began getting ready for bed.

_Later that night…_

Shike wandered the halls as he thought about the two new residents of his grand home.

_I wonder, _he thought to himself, _what exactly can those two do? How smart are they?_ He wandered into one of the rooms he spent a lot of time in. As he looked at the papers stacked on the corner of the desk in the middle of the room, he shifted his focus to the one page in the middle of the desk, the one that had been used most recently and was awaiting more. He focused on the slightly smeared drawing that was on the page, a drawing of a battleaxe that he had been working on. An idea came to his head._ Perhaps… perhaps I could challenge them tomorrow. First, a match of wit, of skill, of personal knowledge. A match indoors where I tell them nothing of my tactics and plans, to see how well they can fight an unfamiliar foe. An evaluation. Then, perhaps after Ed has had his automail refitted for cold weather, a match outdoors, in which I point out their mistakes and help them increase their skill. Hmm… I know Ed can transmute without a circle like I can. Al can't do the same, but he is still pretty smart and wise in his own right. Even more interesting is that his armor seems virtually indestructible. I know they have been through a few fights already, and yet Al's armor, despite being covered in scratches, doesn't seem to have any dents or obvious damage. I wonder how much assault that armor can take before something goes critical. Of course, it has been damaged by alchemy before, there are signs to prove that, however subtle they may be, but nothing else seems to have done anything. Those scratches… those were bullet marks. They had lead smeared into them. Obviously, something as simple and yet deadly as a bullet cannot pierce his armor. Considering all these factors… He must rely on his own martial arts and his raw strength and defense in combat, but where quick alchemy is involved, he requires time to prepare, so this makes him the defense, the backup. Ed is the quick one, the small and hard-to-catch one. He is the impulsive one who can transmute nearly anything in an instant, and he is the one who comes up with the plans and does all the dirty work. Ed can transmute walls or other such defenses if need be, but judging by other rumors and subtle signs, Ed prefers to attack head-on, so he is the offense. A perfect team. This should be interesting…_

He began to turn away from the unfinished drawing on the desk. He left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him, and then began wandering the halls again, still thinking about various things, but planning to go to bed soon. He continued to walk as he rounded a corner, heading towards the back where his own room was. Instead of entering his room, however, he decided to continue on. He stopped in front of the large double doors that led to his piano room, looking up at them with a small grin of a young man wise beyond his years. He began thinking about his music. His piano had been getting just a bit boring lately, a bit repetitive, but he still cherished it more than nearly anything else in the world, for nothing seemed to bring him such solace, such peace, such sadness, happiness, excitement and anger. Nothing seemed to fill him with emotion in the same way his music did.

His thoughts were interrupted as he saw something in his peripheral vision. He looked to his left to see a small shape moving in the darkness of the hallway. The shape began to take form into a silhouette as it came closer, and he soon recognized it as a young fox girl.

"Katie!?" he said in surprise, as he ran over to the young girl. She looked up at the sound of his voice, and immediately ran up to him and fell into his arms as he knelt to catch her. He wrapped her now-shivering form into a tight hug, thinking he knew what was wrong.

"Katie, what's wrong? Why aren't you in bed?" he tried to clarify.

"I… couldn't sleep… the… that place… that horrible place…" she managed to say quietly.

"The nightmare again, huh?" he stated. She nodded softly, her face still buried in his shirt. He hugged her tighter as he tried everything to calm her down. He knew exactly how she felt, and he knew that sometimes, such experiences as what she had been through could drive just about anyone to insanity or even suicide, especially at her young age. All he could do was try to calm her down and help her get her mind off of those mental images, while he himself attempted to avoid becoming depressed. Her current state brought back past memories of his own, memories he would prefer to wipe from all existence if he could, as with them came feelings of overwhelming depression and guilt, feelings of hopelessness and sadness that, to this day, even he could hardly bear, despite having felt them countless times before. These feelings had nearly driven him to an irreversible insanity, as they had left him curled up in his bed, on the verge of tears as he quietly said "Help me… help me…" to whatever almighty beings may exist. He had spent at least two hours in that condition, unable to even close his eyes without his mind being taken over by one, solitary image, an image which instantly brought that feeling of overwhelming depression each time he saw it, a feeling which came quickly, but took its time leaving, and the longer he kept that image in his mind, the more that feeling grew. Now, after all these years, here he was, trying to comfort a young unfortunate girl who had gone through much the same thing, and yet had managed it all on her own, surviving for over a year completely alone on the streets. She was truly remarkable.

Her shaking eventually stopped, and he held her back so he could see her face.

"Are you all right now?" he asked her. She looked at him with a face that was full of fear and worry, but didn't respond otherwise. Shike sighed. He was getting a bit tired, and he didn't like it when such simple plans as going to bed were interrupted for this long, but that didn't matter. He knew his own emotions were just the result of a silly pet peeve, and Katie was far more important than that. He stood up and held out his hand. She took it, and he walked her over to the side hallway, over to a window that had moonlight streaming through it. He pointed up to the moon, a full moon, and began to speak.

"You see that moon?" he asked. She nodded weakly.

"Many people would consider it evil on some nights. To some, it represents such things as werewolves and witchcraft. However, it continues to shine on, and it is on nights like these that it stays particularly bright. Do you know why?" he looked down at her upon asking this. She returned his look with one of curiosity.

He turned back to the moon. "I like to believe that when it becomes a full moon, it shines it's brightest so that it can light the way for those unfortunate enough to be caught in the darkness brought by the night. It shines on, piercing the menacing shadows and illuminating the dangers ahead. It continues to act as a beacon for the unfortunate, despite the fear that is returned by those who are fortunate enough to have homes to take refuge in. At the same time, it cannot pierce all darkness, but the shadows it creates are deeper than any other, providing a safe place to hide for those that would otherwise be caught in the open. The darkness and the light work together to keep you safe when the night falls, so that you may live on to see the morning sun again."

A wolf walked out of the dense forest of evergreens beyond the window, until it was clearly visible in the moonlight. Both pairs of eyes focused on the canine as it stopped and turned its head towards the moon. It lifted its head and opened its maw, and they could just hear its echoing howl from the other side of the thin piece of glass.

"See that?" Shike asked. "The wolf is thanking the moon for guiding it out of the forest, so that it can find its way back to its pack." The wolf began running in the direction of the rear of the mansion, until it had passed the large structure and was out of sight. Shike turned back to the young chimera at his side.

"Katie, as long as you can see the moon, and as long as you can see the light it brings, no matter how bright it is, the moon is your friend, and it will keep you safe in times of trouble." Katie nodded tiredly, now calmed down. A thought then occurred to her.

"What… what if I can't see it?" she asked him. He immediately thought of something, although it felt to him like a bit of a roguish thing to say.

Shike stood up and began walking her to her bedroom as he answered.

"Then it is as I said: the light and the darkness work together. When the light is not there to guide you, the darkness provides you shadows to hide in so you can stay safe throughout the night."

"But what if something else hides in the dark?"

Shike stopped, and then looked at her, a kind, caring smile now on his face.

"Then you still have me, Katie. No matter what happens, I will always be there to keep you safe from harm, and to help you in any way, should you ever need it."

They reached her room after a little more walking. Shike stopped by her bedside before kneeling in front of her.

"Are you alright now?" he asked. She nodded her response.

"Alright then. You still need your sleep, so go back to bed for now. I will be going to bed myself in a bit, but if you need me, don't hesitate to wake me."

Katie nodded, then gave him one last hug.

"Good night…" she spoke quietly.

"Good night, Katie…" Shike said softly. They broke the hug, and Katie climbed into her bed. After Shike had left the room, she looked out her window. She couldn't see the moon, but she could see the light it provided, and it brought her great comfort, especially now. Her mind finally at peace, she rolled over and fell asleep.

Shike had just shut the door to Katie's room when he began walking to his own, his mind already focused on a new idea that might help her to stop having these terrifying nightmares.

* * *

Alright, so that's the end of this chapter, and now Ed and Al have officially moved into the mansion, with Winry about to join them soon! The brothers have yet to discover the final occupant of the mansion however, and things can go wrong when such events occur. What will happen next? Follow me and my story to find out in the next chapter!

On a side note, and a rather important one at that, I know the last bit, the "Later that night" bit, seemed a bit mushy. Just keep in mind that Shike thinks of Katie like a kind father would think of his own daughter, so don't get any wrong ideas. He has made mistakes in his past, and he already knows full well that Katie is still very insecure about nearly everything, so he tries everything he can to keep her safe and happy, and that sometimes requires moments like this. Oddly enough, I had no intended for the metaphorical speech originally, since I had plans for another one later on, but I honestly don't know if I will put in that other one, since I don't know when I would use it and I'm gradually forgetting how I was going to word it so it made sense. Another odd thing is that the "Later that night" part was actually inspired by a somewhat dramatic event of my own that happened that very night that I wrote it. I will not say what it is, but I will say that I basically ended up feeling kind of depressed that night, but at the same time, that depression caused me to write out that part of the story incredibly well, since I was in the perfect mood for writing such a dramatic moment. I didn't write all of it that night, but I did write most of it, with the rest of it being written and finished the day after due to trying to figure out how to make the metaphorical speech work right without contradicting myself completely and making Shike look like an idiot or making me look like an amateur writer as a result. Lastly, the portion where Shike mentions being stuck in his bed saying "Help me" over and over... prepare to have your mind blown. That moment was actually very heavily based on an experience I had quite recently, perhaps only a month ago. I think I nearly went insane, LITERALLY, that night, and probably even did for a brief bit. Thankfully, I am okay now, and have been for a while, but that night... you do NOT want to experience that.

Anyway, don't forget to favorite this story and follow it, as well as me preferably since I have other fanfiction to work on as well, and PLEASE leave a review for this chapter! I WANT to know your thoughts about it, I WANT to know what you think of the story as a whole, I WANT to know what you think will happen next, and I WANT to hear your ideas for future possibilities! DON'T LEAVE ME HANGING PEOPLE PLEASE!


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